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Friday, September 23, 2011

Canada

The ol' car, covered in bug guts from three
provinces, gets ready for yet another boat ride.
This time to Vancouver Island.

Welcome
back my friends!

As many of you may know, I've had been out of the country for a while and back in my native Canada. I didn't blog while I was there, but like any good ex-pat, every now
and then I’m compelled to return to my home country to visit relatives, tell
stories, and share my experiences. I've finally gotten around to writing something and here we go.

You might wonder how I feel about Canada.
Do I get homesick? What do I
miss? You might be surprised to hear
that I’ve become somewhat of a stranger in my own country. I now look at things through the eyes of a
bewildered visitor. I wonder what
changed in me to create this effect. Has
Canada changed or is it just me… or both?

Here are
some of my observations as an insider who lives on the outside:

Geography: I’m Western Canadian, originally from Saskatchewan (one of the
larger provinces). Canada is made up of
10 provinces, and 3 territories. 6 of
the provinces are huge… as in bigger than Texas huge. My former hometown of Saskatoon is very far
from Vancouver and very very far from Toronto.
If these are the only Canadian cities you know… then you will have to
consult google maps to find it.

Saskatoon City Hall

People:
Saskatonians (those from Saskatoon) are generally a friendly lot. They suffer -40C temperatures for several
months of the year and this requires a great degree of solidarity. Settled originally by a combination of
German, Ukrainian and British immigrants, the city now boasts a far more
international population, being somewhat of a ‘starter city’ for Canadian
immigrants from around the world. I feel
very sorry for someone from the Middle East or Africa suffering their first day
of -40C weather.

Saskatonians enjoy a day at the race track. Featured here
is Saskatoon's Marquis Downs track... where I have yet to
bet on the right horse.

Business: When I was growing up in Saskatchewan, it was
one of the poorest provinces in Canada and this is certainly no longer the
case. Boasting rich reserves of oil,
potash, diamonds and uranium, the province is going through somewhat of a
renaissance. Saskatoon is growing, and
becoming the most unlikely of business hubs.

The Porsche dealer in Saskatoon, says he'll sell all these cars and
many times more this year. Saskatoon business is booming!

Travel: Canadians like to drive long distances. The distance from Saskatoon to Vancouver, for
example is 1,678 km. Travelling this distance at the posted
speed limits would take 19 hours and 39 minutes plus rest stops. Driving by Porsche, it takes about 10
hours. :)

Vampires: Blood sucking in Canada is said to be the exclusive
domain of the federal and provincial governments. Vampires that can somehow survive the cold
are lucky to find any blood left in their victims.

Language: The Western Provinces of (from east to west)
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia are predominantly English
speaking. For various reasons, the
French language is actually shunned in some areas, though it is inescapable as
it appears on all packaging of any product sold in Canada. I was recently introduced by a Quebecois
friend to new friends here in Paris who described me as HALF Canadian… because
I only spoke English.

Mountains: There is nothing as majestic as the Rocky
Mountains. I’m sorry they don’t have a
more majestic name. For the price of a
few gallons of gas, they can be enjoyed at will. They are a spectacle in any season of the
year… and almost too grand to behold.

Enjoying a Starbucks at the commissary area
at the Tsawassen ferry terminal.

Water: It seems that in life, I am moving to smaller
and smaller islands. I’ve lived on
Vancouver Island, Oahu and now the tiny Isle Saint Louis. Travelling to Vancouver Island and the neighbouring
islands is most frequently done by boat.
For a reasonable fee (to some), one can drive their car right onto the
boat, and ferry across to the neighbour island while watching the coast drift
by. As a resident I hated the bother of
a ferry commute, but as a visitor I love the chance to get out on the water.

A view from one of the many BC Ferries. This one leaving from Tsawassen
(south of Vancouver) to Duke Point (in Nanaimo).

Hippies: My last impression upon leaving Canada was
the observation of a species I call the West Coast Hippie. If you thought you needed a time machine to
see a hippie, then you are mistaken.
Tribes of hippies still live in British Columbia and tend to prefer the
islands. They can be spotted by layered
clothes of poor quality and often a knitted fabric. The males wear full and uncombed beards and
the females tend to smell of cannabis and eucalyptus oil. Like their counterparts of 50 years ago, they
can be heard quoting Karl Marx, making various references to ‘weed’, and never
ever ever will they mention anything job or work related.

This was my ride back to Vancouver. I sat right next to the pilot.

Thank you for reading my friends, more Paris observations are on the way.